In a blooming broom shrub

In the time of Emperor Charlemagne at Christmas around the year 800, a statue of the Virgin Mary was discovered in a blooming broom shrub in the small village of Soucieu, (now Valfleury, France). A chapel was built there forthwith and it became a place of pilgrimage. Benedictine monks came to serve the shrine and gave it the beautiful name of Valfleury in memory of the discovery of the statue of the Virgin Mary.

After an interruption due to the turmoil of the French Revolution (1789-1799), pilgrimages resumed under the Vincentians and spiritual renewal was intense. Mr. Nicolle, then the superior of the Vincentians, also instituted in 1862 the work of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Agony, through which a new religious community dedicated to the sick was born called the Sisters of Gethsemani.

At Our Lady of Valfleury the pilgrimage for the Assumption remains the most important, but other pilgrimages also are organized throughout the year.

pelerinagesdefrance.fr